


Sense of Adventure (Part 2 of the Other Senses Series)

by ssa_archivist



Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, Humor, M/M, episode-related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-09-22
Updated: 2002-09-22
Packaged: 2017-11-01 09:55:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/355270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clark goes to Keystone City for his Summer Vacation. He meets the Flash and we meet his cousin Zen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sense of Adventure (Part 2 of the Other Senses Series)

## Sense of Adventure (Part 2 of the Other Senses Series)

by Dane

[]()

* * *

Other Sense  
By Dane 

Part 2: Sense of Adventure: 

Clark Jerome Kent couldn't be accused of not being adventurous, after all of the stuff that happens in Smallville on a daily basis, that's probably the last thing the Clark wants to be called. At least that was what he thought until he spent his summer with his Cousin Zen. 

One bright afternoon, when Zen (short for Zenobia) came to the guest room where he was staying in Keystone City for the summer, she commented about his clothing in the closet. `You are in dire need of a make over, Clark.' Of course, he said no, but the Kent's were known for their stubbornness, it was only a question of whose stubbornness would win. After a week of prodding, ridiculing, begging, and whining, Clark gave in and let his `Skater Chick' cousin of 16, drag him to the nearest clothing store, arguing that `Flannel is fine if you were on a farm, which you are not at the moment'. 

A few facts for the uninitiated about Keystone City. Much like New York and Los Angeles, Keystone has a thriving population of fashion conscious denizens who spend a good portion of their income on clothing and lifestyle products. All this stemmed from their French roots and booming textile industry. Keystone prides itself for having one of the best fashion weeks that could rival Paris or NYC. 

Clark couldn't help but feel out of place with everyone looking like they came out of a magazine. When he and Zen got off the bus at Keystone's fashion district, he was immediately staring at everyone. In Smallville, it was normal to see people in comfortable everyday clothes, except for Lex, no one there was exactly trend setting. Left and right, Clark saw Prada, Armani, Sean John, Ralph Lauren, and other branded items from famous lines of fashion on people. Sheer displacement ran through his being as he thought that it was a mistake to have come here. Zen woke Clark from his self-deprecation and dragged him to a corner caf which sold magazines. 

Zen looked at him once over and nodded. "You look like a `Details' man, Clark. Let me just look at some issues and get you dressed." 

Clark sighed. He ordered a cappuccino and waited while Zen scanned through the pages for possibilities. "I don't know, Zen. I mean, I'm not exactly model material here. I'm clumsy. I have a terrible sense of style. Girls, other than Lana and Chloe, avoid me when possible, and I look weird." 

Zen stopped her perusal and looked at her cousin with a disbelieving look. "Clark, from this moment on, I don't want to here that kind on low self-esteem ever again. Shit Clark! The only reason you are clumsy is that you aren't fully in control of your body, you're still getting used to it. When I first saw you go down from the bus depot a week ago, I though `Damn, if he weren't my cousin I'd never let him go'. You aren't the awkward little boy that I came to visit 6 years ago that tripped whenever you saw that Lana chick, but a young man on the verge of adulthood with a body of a God and a face that can give women orgasms just by looking at it." 

Clark blushed. "You're joking." 

"No, I'm not. Look at you, Clark. You hide everything under all that unflattering plaid and loose pants. Remember, I accidentally walked into you while you were changing a few days back, and trust me when I say that you have the potential of being a Calvin Klein model." Clark turned a few shades darker. Zen smiled kindly and pointed Clark to a nearby mirror. "Look at yourself. You have hair that a lot of people would kill for. Your green eyes are the stuff of wet dreams. And I won't go into detail about your cheekbones and lips. It's too wild even for my warped sense of imagination. The raw stuff is there. All you need to do is to shape it." 

"All right," Clark conceded. "But nothing drastic, okay. As much as you want to do this, I don't have enough cash to get a full wardrobe change." 

As Zen considered their options, she accidentally overheard the heated conversation of the table next over. 

"Jerry, we need a male model fast. I don't care where you get him but get him," said a big-boned woman in a stylishly cut pale green outfit. Her eyes were covered in the latest pair of sunglasses, and she was smoking a mile a minute. Agitation and annoyance clearly rocked through her body. 

Jerry, a meek looking man in a blue Armani suit, tried to placate the woman. "Mirabella, I don't think you understand. Most of the models are out of the city on vacation and won't be back until next week. What's left over managed to get food poisoning from a wedding that all of them attended last night. No one's available unless we move the Versace shot next week, get a mediocre hack to pose for us, or we managed to find some Joe with some `it' factor to pass us right now and accept an offer." 

Feeling the urge to go to the restroom, Clark stood up and said, "Excuse me for a while, Zen. Gotta go find the toilet." As he was going to the restroom, Jerry and Mirabella saw Clark move pass them and both got a speculative gleam in their eyes. 

"He could work," said Jerry, "if we can see more of the goods underneath all that bad flannel." Mirabella just nodded while she smoked. 

Zen saw her chance. "Excuse me," she said and the two speakers turned to see her. "I don't mean to pry but I overheard some of your conversation. Maybe, we can work something out. That guy you were looking at is my cousin." 
    
    
          Clark, who also heard the discussion earlier, gaped in shock when he saw Zen talking animatedly with Jerry and Mirabella when he came back. He felt a migraine suddenly pop up. 
    *       *       *
    
            "I don't know about this, Zen," said Clark as he examined himself in front of a mirror at some location near the docks of Keystone. The shot was to promote locally the new line of Versace Jeans. Jerry, who was the local fashion manager of the Versace House, presented him with a snug pair of dark jeans, and nothing else. Even as he looked at his reflection, he felt naked just looking at how the denim molded to his skin.
    
            "Hey, don't knock it. At least, you can chalk it up to experience. You got nothing to be afraid of, Clark. Remember what I've said about your body. It's to die for. So, lighten up a bit," quirked Zen, who was sitting on a nearby couch with some Doritos's. 
    
            Clark turned to face her, crossing his arms over his pecs. "Zen, I don't feel all that comfortable with is. I mean, if you hadn't goaded me into this, I would have probably left you there with Jerry and Mirabella looking like an idiot. Just be happy I'm a guy who can't really leave women in situations like that. It was embarrassing enough."
    
            Their talk was interrupted by Mirabella who knocked loudly on the door and barged in. Clark, in a momentary lapse of memory, tried to cover himself. 
    
            "Darling! Why do you want to cover such a wonderful body?" She turned to Zen and smiled impishly. "Such a modest boy. We'll turn him into a sexy beast soon enough." She turned her attention back to Clark. "We'll start in 5 minutes. Just come out and we'll add a little paint on your face, then we'll start shooting. 
    
            Resigning himself to his fate, Clark allowed Zen to drag himself out of the small dressing room and to a make-up chair facing a brightly lit mirror. The make-up artist did quick work on his face since he needed only so little for the shoot. He looked to his right and saw another model; her face was being penciled with eyeliner. She looked towards him and she smiled.
    
            "First time?" she asked kindly. Clark could only nod dumbly. He found her extremely beautiful. "Don't worry. It's always like this the first few times around. I found out what happened from Mirabella. You're a special discovery, if I do say so myself. It's Molly, by the way."
    
            "Clark," he said nervously.
    
            "You'll be fine. I'll guide you through." She winked at him and left the chair. She squeezed his arm on her way to the set and Clark felt his heart pound. He thought that it was bad enough that he didn't know how was he going to survive this without embarrassing himself, just how was he going to survive this without cumming. 
    
            Clark managed to ease himself, mostly thanks to Molly's encouraging advice and fragile handling of his situation. Though, it was positively torturous to be holding her during the last shot where they shared the same breathing space on a narrow couch.
    
            On their way out, Mirabella had to squeal in delight, saying that Clark is a natural and that they should come by her office to discuss some terms. Zen and Clark left some after and hailed the first cab that they found. Clark told the driver that he would give him another ten to the meter if he would hurry them back home. 
    
            "Why?" asked Zen, as the cab roared through the traffic.
    
            Clark blushed mightily. "I need to find a bathroom and take care of some business; otherwise I would suffer from a bad case of blue balls." Zen just laughed her ass off.
    
    *       *       *
    
            "Look at it this way. You got a paycheck with enough zeroes in it to rent an up class apartment for six months. They even gave you the outfits in gratitude. Come on, Clark. Don't tell me you didn't have fun?" Zen quipped as they headed to the bank a few days later after the shot. Despite the significant height difference, Clark had a hard time catching up to her in normal speed. Zen is a fireball when she's on her skateboard, a diminutive force of nature with straight red hair and cargo pants. 
    
            "Zen, it's not as if I didn't enjoy it. It's just that you did this without talking to me about it first. I just hope my parents don't go browsing one day and finds my picture in a magazine. I'm sure to get it when and if ever they do." Clark sighed. Lex would have been proud of this, if he tells is to him in their next phone call. "Well, you're right about one thing. I earned some money out of this, so let me deposit this and let's go shopping tomorrow or something."
    
            Zen whooped and raced away from Clark on her skateboard. Clark rolled his eyes and ran after her. So far, he was having the time of his life.
    
    *       *       *
    
            Soon, a month had already passed and Zen managed to convince Clark to get a job as a model on a more quasi-permanent basis. "Hey, at least you're helping to build up your college fund, right?" said Zen after one of Clark modeling jobs, this time for one of Keystone's more popular shoe brands.
    
            "Right! You do know that after this summer, I wouldn't be caught dead doing all this stuff. It will ruin my reputation. I can see Chloe laughing at me and Lex calling me `Model Boy"
    
            Zen snorted. "What reputation? Clark, every since you began high school two years ago, you managed to paint yourself as an invisible person. Some people are meant for that, but you aren't. It's like trying to cover the light of the sun with flimsy cloth. You shine, mi primo! It's like you attract everyone to your light, if anyone bothered to look.
    
            Clark went into deep thought after that. He wasn't really sure about it, but it did make sense in some way. Chloe was a sophisticated girl from Metropolis, so she had her chance of being part of the popular crowd. Pete could have abandoned him and hung out with the rest of the football team, but his loyalty remained unquestioning. He suspected that Lana always knew just how special he was, even her boyfriend did eventually. Both of them ended up being very good friends of his. Lex probably was the only one who saw his full potential, and that made Clark smile because he believed in whatever Lex said. He never lied to him, well, recently.
    
            Maybe it was about time Clark Kent became a little bit more flexible and open. Who knows, maybe his track record would improve when he got back to Smallville.
    
    *       *       *
    
            He had to admit that this was the best summer that he had ever had. Besides the steady cash he got for modeling jobs, Clark would go out and explore the city. Keystone was as fast paced as Metropolis or Gotham City, as it can be testified by its town hero, The Flash. People bustled and went on with their business like busy ants, while fast and efficient public transportations like the buses and the ELs went like clockwork. Because of the pace, he never used his super-speed to get anywhere. Well, except maybe to help in foiling a few crimes here and there, some of which were helped with the Flash.
    
            One afternoon, the Flash and Clark sat down for a nosh while after saving a group of kids from a shooting spree. Clark was in awe at the man. His sleek red suit with the small wingtips on his head and boots made him look larger than life, though Clark was certain that he was taller than him by a few inches. 
    
            "So, how does it feel to be the fastest man alive?" asked Clark while trying not to spill him soda from his excitement.
    
            "So, how does it feel to be the only one on the planet who can match my speed?" countered the Flash with a smile. Clark blushed a nice red.
    
            "It ain't so bad. I'm still learning how to work my powers. It's scary, really. How did you cope with them?" 
    
            The Flash looked at Clark for a moment and then gobbled up his hotdog and drink in half a second. He burped and looked back at the young, wide-eyed man sitting beside him. "It's like being a teenager. You have your ups and downs. Everyday is a learning experience. Just keep what you're doing and you'll be fine. We all do one way or another." He stood, gave a slight salute, and sped away in a red blur.
    
            And Clark thought when his heart slowed down enough from the hero worship, "Man, what a rush that was!" He knew that Lex was going to freak when he tells him about this.
    
    *       *       *
            
            After that first job for Versace that was set up by Jerry and Mirabella, Clark and Zen took up a weekly ritual of shopping for clothes and stuff for Clark, and if when Clark feels generous, also for Zen. Steadily, Clark started to develop a style that garnered a large approval from Zen and her family. He started wearing that molded well to his long legs, simple t-shirts that showed-off his torso, and during the back-to-school sales, Zen bought Clark a few sport jackets that looked good on him. Shoes were a bit of a trial, since Clark was partial towards his sneakers and boots. Zen managed to change his mind when he forced him to try on a pair of sneakers that looked like a pair of bowling shoes. After walking in them a few yards, Clark bought them with some of his money, along with the sandals and trainers for the new school year.
    
            The shopping, of course, was only one aspect of the vacation the Clark enjoyed. On weekends, Zen would either bring him clubbing, or partying at some friend of Zen's. Clark always manages to be the center of attention and, much to Zen's amusement, Clark never notices. Guys and girls would hit on him constantly but he would gently put them down like a pro, unless they were aggressive and had to be told bluntly to their faces. Needless to say, Clark never had a more productive social life. Some days, the pair would go with Zen's parents and have a family day in the city like going to museums or to some play. Clark could tell that this was mostly for his own benefit, but he enjoyed himself. 
    
            Zen appreciated the slow metamorphosis of Clark to a more confident young man. She suspected that he didn't have people to encourage Clark to find himself back at Smallville, except maybe that Lex guy that Clark hangs with. People there were just too complacent for Zen's taste, even to the point of blindness when they don't want things that are right in front of them. She still had to admit that Clark still has a long way to go before anything else, but she's glad that she was here for the initial start of it. Now, she felt like she's done her good deed for the year.
    
            So, on Clark's last week in Keystone, she packed in as much fun as she could into seven days before leaving on Saturday morning. Day one was a double date with a pair of twins from Zen's school. The gist of the evening would that the both of them got lucky that night. She took pride in knowing that her blushing cousin wasn't a virgin any more. Selma, Clark's date, was happy to have popped his cherry if that meant that she got the fuck of her life. No Lana angst here, folks. Day two was spent at near by Merton Beach. By the ogling stares of most of the sunbathers, Clark was Grade A man meat in a green swim shorts. Day three, they went to the local Six Flags and spent the whole time going on rides and stuffing their bellies like the gluttons they are. Day four, they decided to have a quiet day in the park and watch some Shakespeare. They were acting out `A Midsummer's Night Dream' at the amphitheater. Day five was done in the malls, doing some last minute shopping for souvenirs for Clark's parents and friends. Day six was held in a classy Salon where Clark was besotted by the staff and was given the best haircut that he ever had. Later, he and Zen's family had one last dinner at a fancy restaurant. 
    
            Sadly, the day finally arrived when Clark had to leave for Kansas. Zen and her mom brought Clark to the bus station for his ride back to Metropolis. Zen's mom gave Clark a big hug and told him to give Martha all the stuff that she gave him. Clark told him that he will and then faced Zen. No words were said because she just burst into tears and sobbed on his shoulder. He gently patted her back and promised her that he would call soon. Someone announced that Clark's bus was ready to leave in 5 minutes and Clark released his embrace on Zen. He managed to carry all of his two luggages (he now had twice the clothes and stuff than when he arrived in Keystone) and waved goodbye at his Aunt and Cousin. 
    
            On the long ride back to Metropolis, Clark could hardly wait to see his family, which he only got to contact through emails and telephone calls. He wanted to see his mom and dad, and tell them about everything that he forgot to tell them. He wanted to see his friends and tell them about Keystone City. And he wanted to tell Lex about what he learned there. All these thought filtered in his head before he nodded off to sleep.
    

**TBC...**


End file.
